New Canaan, CTWhen it comes to treating a cold there are a variety of remedies available on the market. However, some of those remedies allegedly come with side effects that may be too serious for the condition they are treating. Reportedly, Zicam side effects include a loss of the sense of smell. For patients who use Zicam, the loss of smell is a potentially permanent, and dangerous, risk they may not have known they were exposed to.
"I had a head cold and had seen Zicam advertised," Jim says. "I bought it and used it according to directions and it was effective. It cleared up the cold quickly. When I had the cold, I had no sense of smell, but when the cold was better, I didn't get my sense of smell back. It was gone.
I didn't really notice it that much until I was around people and they would say things like, 'Doesn't that food smell great?' or 'Isn't that a nice smell?' Then, I realized I had no sense of smell at all.
My sense of smell has been gone about 3 years. When I used the Zicam, it burned slightly, but it was not painful or anything. It just felt like it was working. I saw a doctor, but the doctor didn't really respond to it. He just said, 'Things like that can happen.' So, I didn't go through a lot of tests or anything like that because I didn't feel that anything could be done.
It's definitely affected my quality of life. You know, you don't really know that you'll miss your sense of smell until you don't have it. I suppose if you are going to lose a sense, that would be the one to lose, but it does impact your life, no question.
One thing that happened, which was interesting, was that our dog cornered a skunk in our garage. The skunk sprayed the dog, the garage and the car. My wife noticed the dog and did the things you're supposed to do—the tomato juice—but the next morning, I drove off in the car with a heavy skunk smell that I didn't notice. I went to a meeting and everyone around me noticed the smell. Their eyes were tearing up and I was happily sitting there until they realized the smell was coming from my car. I laughed, and felt stupid, but I really didn't smell a thing.
There should be a major warning on Zicam. I know that there are people who use it who aren't affected by it and it is effective, but it causes real damage. If it can cause a loss of smell, there should be warnings."
Zicam is an over-the-counter nasal solution and cold remedy. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers to stop using 3 Zicam products linked 130 reports of a loss of the sense of smell (anosmia).